"Can you do it, Tom?" demanded Smith, and without waiting for a reply.
"You've got to do it."
"Sure I'll do it--if you want to foot the bills."
"Good!" exclaimed Smith. "Now that's settled let me tell you something
about the story. Joe's written a great story--it's goin' to be a
knock-out. You see this fellow's born in the jungle and brought up by a
lioness. He pals around with the lions all his life--doesn't know any
other friends. The lion is king of beasts; when the boy grows up he's
king of the lions; so he bosses the whole menagerie. See? Big shot of
the jungle."
"Sounds familiar," commented Orman.
"And then the girl comes in, and here's a great shot! She doesn't know
any one's around, and she's bathing in a jungle pool. Along comes
the Lion Man. He ain't ever seen a woman before. Can't you see the
possibilities, Tom? It's goin' to knock 'em cold." Smith was walking
around the room, acting out the scene. He was the girl bathing in the
pool in one corner of the room, and then he went to the opposite corner
and was the Lion Man. "Great, isn't it?" he demanded. "You've got to
hand it to Joe."
"Joe always was an original guy," said Orman. "Say, who you got to play
this Lion Man that's goin' to pal around with the lions? I hope he's
got the guts."
"Best ever, a regular find. He's got a physique that's goin' to have
all the girls goofy."
"Yes, them and their grandmothers," offered another conferee.
"Who is he?"
"He's the world's champion marathoner."
"Marathon dancer?"
"No, marathon runner."
"If I was playin' that part I'd rather be a sprinter than a distance
runner. What's his name?"
"Stanley Obroski."
"Stanley Obroski? Never heard of him."
"Well, he's famous nevertheless; and wait till you see him! He's sure
got 'It,' and I don't mean maybe."
"Can he act?" asked Orman.
"He don't have to act, but he looks great stripped--I'll run his tests
for you."
"Who else is in the cast?"
"The Madison's cast for lead opposite Obroski, and--"
"M-m-m, Naomi's plenty hot at 34 north; she'll probably melt at the
Equator."
"And Gordon Z. Marcus goes along as her father; he's a white trader."
"Think Marcus can stand it? He's getting along in years."
"Oh, he's rarin' to go. Major White, here, is taking the part of a
white hunter."
"I'm afraid," remarked the major, "that as an actor I'll prove to be an
excellent hunter."
"Oh, all you got to do is act natural. Don't worry."
"No, let the director worry," said the scenarist; "that's what he's
paid for."
"And rewrittin' bum continuity," retorted Orman. "But say, Milt,
gettin' back to Naomi. She's great in cabaret scenes and flaming youth
pictures, but when it comes to steppin' out with lions and elephants--I
don't know."
"We're sendin' Rhonda Terry along to double for her."
"Good! Rhonda'd go up and bite a lion on the wrist if a director told
her to; and she does look a lot like the Madison, come to think of it."
"Which is flatterin' the Madison, if any one asks me," commented the
scenarist.
"Which no one did," retorted Smith.
"And again, if any one asks me," continued Joe, "Rhonda can act circles
all around Madison. How some of these punks get where they are beats
me."
"And you hangin' around studios for the last ten years!" scoffed Orman.
"You must be dumb."
"He wouldn't be an author if he wasn't," gibed another conferee.
"Well," asked Orman, "who else am I takin'? Who's my chief cameraman?"
"Bill West."
"Fine."
"What with your staff, the cast, and drivers you'll have between
thirty-five and forty whites. Besides the generator truck and the two
sound trucks, you'll have twenty five-ton trucks and five passenger
cars. We're picking technicians and mechanics who can drive trucks so
as to cut down the size of the company as much as possible. I'm sorry
you weren't in town to pick your own company, but we had to rush
things. Every one's signed up but the assistant director. You can take
any one along you please."
"When do we leave?"
"In about ten days."
"It's a great life," sighed Orman. "Six months in Borneo, ten days
in Hollywood, and then another six months in Africa! You guys give a
fellow just about time to get a shave between trips."
"Between drinks, did you say?" inquired Joe.
"Between drinks!" offered another. "There isn't any between drinks in
Tom's young life."